The Alternative Album Chart: The best new indie albums this week
As we barrel headfirst into the manic weekend that is Glastonbury 2023, it’s strange to think that none of the artists who released albums this week are being featured at Britain’s biggest festival. As far as I can tell, not a single artist who put out new music this Friday has an official slot at Glastonbury. Perhaps someone could be one of the secret artists, but we already know that The Churnups are not Portugal. The Man in disguise.
What’s the deal, people? Isn’t Glastonbury one of the biggest festivals in the world? Why couldn’t anybody line up their album release for a prominent slot at the farm? It’s not as though headliners like Elton John or Guns ‘N Roses are preparing new music any time soon. Surely there could’ve been room somewhere down the list of featured artists for bands like Geese or Albert Hammond Jr?
It doesn’t matter all that much – with a lineup that includes Arctic Monkeys, Chvrches, The Lathums, Queens of the Stone Age, The War on Drugs, Japanese Breakfast, Warpaint, Shame, Wunderhorse, Caroline Polachek, Phoenix, and Unknown Mortal Orchestra, among many others, Glastonbury 2023 isn’t lacking the alternative department.
It’s not like these artists particularly needed an appearance at Glastonbury, but who would turn that down? Looks like they’ll just have to survive with their new music and non-Glasto live appearances. Without further ado, let’s look at the best indie records released this week in our latest alternative chart.
The best indie and alternative albums this week:
Life Under The Gun – Militarie Gun – 4.5/5
I’ll let my colleague Arun Starkey lead off with this one. “Put simply, Life Under The Gun, the hotly-anticipated debut album by punks Militarie Gun, is excellent”.
There, that’s all you need. If you want a little more detail, just plug into the high-octane charge of album opener ‘Do It Faster’ to understand everything you need to know about the band and their approach to music. All gas, no breaks, and a few surprising pop hooks that keep you coming back for more.
3D Country – Geese – 4/5
American experimental indie kids Geese made quite the impression with their 2021 debut LP Projector. I wouldn’t have thought it were possible for them to get even weirder on their next LP, but here I am, completely wrong.
Freak jazz, gospel choirs, electro-funk, indie rock, and weathered introspection all have space to exist on 3D Country, with nothing seeming to make total sense. But confusion and surprise are some of Geese’s most valuable assets, and the sheer amount of wild fun that can be crammed in there as well is damn impressive.
Melodies on Hiatus – Albert Hammond Jr – 3.5/5
After carving out his own place in the indie rock universe with the phenomenal 2018 effort Francis Trouble, The Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond Jr has returned with his mammoth fifth studio album Melodies on Hiatus.
At over an hour long, the new LP comes bursting with guest features, left turns, and wild guitar-heavy interludes. Is it too long and overstuffed for its own good? Absolutely, but seeing as though Hammond only gets to release one album every couple of years with The Strokes, it’s heartening to see him use the rest of his time on some of his own wonderful music.
The Beggar – Swans – 3/5
If you have no idea what Swans sound like as a band, let me offer you some advice – stay as far away from The Beggar as humanly possible.
The monolithic two-hour deluge of an album is best described as a descent into hell, complete with all the apocalyptic imagery and soul-crushing turns that you’d expect from it. In other words, it’s just another day at the office for Swans. No casual fan will be able to stomach the 43-minute penultimate track, but the attention to detail is remarkable, so kudos are certainly in order.
Chris Black Changed My Life – Portugal. The Man – 2.5/5
If this is an endorsement of American indie rockers Portugal. The Man and their latest studio album, Chris Black Changed My Life, it’s a tacit one at best. The band’s 9th effort is their first since 2017’s Woodstock blasted them into the mainstream on the back of their pop hit ‘Feel It Still’.
You’d expect some kind of evolution to have occurred in the six years since then, but Chris Black Changed My Life is just another bog-standard Portugal. The Man album, which can’t help but come off as a bit of a disappointment.
